Francis Schaeffer was a Prebyterian pastor who moved to Swiss Alps in 1948 and started the L'Abri Fellowship. God gave him vision and insight into the centrality of the gospel in living that has helped countless others to better understand the truth now. Schaeffer died in 1984, but the depth of wisdom that he was given continues to live through his writings.

True Spirituality is a book that God has used in a way to greatly change the paradigm of my thinking. Dr. Schaffer's thoughts and teachings on grace and the facets therein aide in clarifying how the Christian life might be lived more effectively and freely. By no means do I desire to set forth that Schaeffer was an advocate of antinomianism, he was not, but he was provided a great understanding of the sweet blessedness of salvatory grace.

Schaeffer leads us back to the understanding that God does change the entire man when He makes us into new creations. The healing that we experience goes far beyond superficial and abstract concepts and shows itself to be something greater than we ever hoped or dreamed. The reality of man being complete by the sovereign grace of God is epitomized in realizing that grace is effectual in the spiritual, mental, and physical aspects of who we are. Salvatory grace is not left for a mere longing for something that has yet to be seen while we wait behind the fortressed walls of a church on a Sunday morning. Francis Schaeffer is a man who, like Christ, confronted the culture that he was in by verbalizing and living profound truths of a godly nature. Francis Schaeffer was a man, but he was a man who has been used by God to reach countless others to help the understanding of the depravity of our sinful selves being saved purely by grace for the sake of the glory of God. Without a doubt, this book has had one of the most lasting and profound affects on my life.

The Lord has used this book to revive me two separate times. Schaeffer examines the Bible lived in post-modern society. He obviously put a lot of thinking and analysis into this book at his own time of "re-thinking" or personal crisis. This book was written at a time when he had to reconsider his whole position from square one. If we are honest about the intellectual struggles of living in this modern world we are likely to encounter difficulties and apparent contradictions. What bothered Schaeffer also bothers me--that what I see in the Bible I do not see in the lives of modern Christians.

What was especially useful to me recently was his discussion of the tenth commandment and thankfulness. Romans 1 tells us that the lack of thankfulness and acknowledging God as our creator is the root of all perversion. Schaeffer explains how Paul was seized by his own sinfulness when encountering "Thou shall not covet." If we are honest with ourselves we can see that this envy and covetousness is at the root of all sin. We are selfish and not content--not thankful. Yet when Paul confronts his sinfulness in this regard his reaction is correct. "Who will deliver me? Thanks be to God through the Lord Jesus Christ!" (Romans 7)

This is a thinking person's book. The more education you have had to endure the more you will benefit. I get more out of Schaeffer now than I did as a young man. This is a sensitive person's book. If you care and hurt about the way things ought to be, if you struggle with living a life pleasing to God, this book will comfort and encourage you.

This book is about faith and forgiveness and daily new starts. It is not about being justified by following a set of arbitrary rules, but going beyond those rules to live by faith. Schaeffer has helped me to meditate on the depths of my forgiveness and the complete renewal that is possible by faith at any moment.

The thread of Schaeffer's philosophy runs through the book as well. God is there in time-space history. We do not create God or our reality in any sense. He created us. We did not evolve. For the unbeliever reading this book, there will be a good deal of unwinding of presuppositions to understand. Modern religious people often use the same language, but mean something entirely different from a literal interpretation of the Bible and a Christ whose cross you might have got a splinter from if you were there to witness.

The book is also a challenge to live by faith continuously. You cannot live on yesterday's faith. You must daily bear the cross.
This is true spirituality.

What is the meaning and essence of true Biblical Christian spirituality? It was in wrestling with such basic questions that Theologian/Philosopher Dr. Francis Schaeffer developed the Biblical material that became focus of his lectures at L'Abri. Dr. Schaeffer describes "True Spirituality" as the written form of those L'Abri studies.

In "True Spirituality" Schaeffer expounds the meaning of Christ's finished work for Christian living in this life, and the freedom that truth brings to the believer in terms of substaintial personal healing and in substantial restoration of relationships with other people. Faith is not just a "once for all" experiance, but an on-going, moment by moment trusting in Christ and His Word. It is in Christ, and Him alone that we have a security and acceptence that is sure and firm. It is in that security and acceptence we can grow in love to Him, and give of ourselves in service to God and to others.

This book is not for someone looking for a quick "how to" formula, but for the patient and persistent reader, willing to expend the time and work, there is profit to be gained. I could only read one chapter at a setting, and then re-read that chapter several times before going on to the next.

It is one of those classic books that needs to be read every few years or so. In an uncertain world at an uncertain time, we as Christians do well to meditiate often on the ultimate security and acceptence we have in the Gospel of Chirst, instead of looking to the idols of this world; that is those things we consciencsly or un-consciencsly keep wanting to put in in our lives in that place only He can fill.

This is a very useful book to everyone who want to understand the main issues of Genesis like the Criation, the Fall and the Flood. Schaeffer apply the understanding of Genesis to our modern life. This way we can see how relevant is Genesis nowadays. If you are serius about Bible studying you should read this book.

"Genesis in Space and Time" is the fifth book of Schaeffer's that I have read. What impacted me the most was, in perfect Francis Schaeffer style, an uncovering of the big-picture, overall themes and structure of Genesis with an emphasis on the unity that consistently is woven throughout. He sees past the particulars of the Genesis narrative and manages to get his arms around the book as a whole; just like he does with culture or philosophy in his other books.

Schaeffer points out that separation is a key theme of Genesis. It is seen over and over; the light is separated from the darkness, the waters above from the waters below, man from the rest of creation, separations that occur because of the fall (man from man, man from nature, man from himself, nature from nature) and the chosen seed of Israel from the unchosen. These separations always begin with the broad, overall picture but then zoom in on the main point. Schaeffer notes, for instance; that the creation of the universe is given first in broad strokes, then the creation of Earth, the creation of life on Earth is gone over quickly, but then we have much detail regarding the creation of man, the descendants of Cain and Seth are given with Cain first, then Seth, because it is Seth's descendants that become Israel the chosen seed, and so on. Microcosm within microcosm. Always the less important is given first, dealt with and gotten out of the way. It is a beautiful pattern that I never saw until reading this book.

Also, Schaeffer has a great description of the first two chapters and how they communicate two primary attributes about God: His infinity and His personality. The infinite-personal God seems to be one of his favorite topics throughout his writings. Another major thrust of the book is authorship and arguments against multiple-authorship.

All in all it was very well done and I highly recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed anything else Francis Schaeffer has written, or anyone who wants to seriously consider the ancient book of Genesis and what effect it has on us today.

There is so much more I could say...

This is an excellent book that gives the reader clear picture of how God worked to accomplish his grand Creation. It was my first glimpse of a God who created everything that is - from nothing. No formless mass, no promordial soup, no cosmic lava - but bothing. As FS states so well, the earth was created from "nothing nothing". Five stars because it is "Great food for thought and presents a clear explanation of the roots needed for a truly biblical worldview."

Dr. Schaeffer and Dr. C. Evert Koop have written a masterful book on the "roberry of life" in the world, and particularly, Western Culture. Interestenly, this text, written over 20 years ago addresses the "devaluation of human life" and prophetically predicts the acceptance of redefining what it means to be a person and alive.

Ideas now coming to the forefront on news programs and the like, are already discussed here. Items such as "genetic" knowledge and its impact on abortion and infanticide. Further, Euthanasia is also discussed.

The last two chapters deals with "The Basis For Human Dignity" and what should be the response of the Christian. The arguments are solid, yet, written in a style that lay-people can easily understand and follow. This book crosses educational lines and denominational barriers between Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox; since it is a subject of great importance to all Christians. A must have.

This book is very accurate prophesy as to what would happen when abortion became legal in any country that legalized it. First came taking life in the womb before it is born, then came taking it in infancy (i.e "Baby Doe" cases in the 1980's, China's infanticide of second children and our country's Susan Smith murder case and "prom parents" in the 1990's). A must for those who think abortion, infanticide and euthanasia are "rights" that are freely chosen.

Walking through Francis and Edith Schaeffer's lives via this book is challenging, encouraging, and edifying. Edith Schaeffer does an excellent job showing God at work in their own lives and through them in others. Definitely worth the effort to find a copy!

In "How Should We Then Live," Francis Schaeffer seeks to give an analysis of the events of history and how they have shaped our present cultural philosophies, thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. Schaeffer begins with the culture of Ancient Rome and leads us all the way through to (written in 1976) the present. How has our current way of thinking developed? Through philosophy? The arts? Science? Religion? The answer is through all of them, and Schaeffer shows how a Christian worldview (or a lack of one) did and continues to affect people and nations. According to Schaeffer, modern man really only cares about two things: personal peace and prosperity...at any cost. How we have arrived here is a very interesting story...

Schaeffer himself admits in the introduction that a comprehensive study of the rise and fall of Western thought and culture would be a near impossibility. He's right. But many times in the book I think he fell short. Schaeffer tends to explain concepts during certain periods in history very clearly, then assumes that the reader is familiar with other periods without the same foundation being laid. Again, as he said, the problem is he can't treat the subject comprehensively in only 258 pages (many of which are photographs). I also felt that Schaeffer was somewhat uncomfortable in knowing how to fit musical influences into the book. His musical statements don't seem to support some of his ideas very well at times. (However, he handles the influence of art quite well.) Also, as with any book examining culture that is 25 years old, much of the material is outdated. It's a shame that Schaeffer didn't live to see and comment on some of the events of the past decade. It would have been very interesting to hear him speak of things (such as cloning) which are now very real.

I have read four previous Schaeffer works. None of the books I have read are very long (well under 300 pages), but some can be a pretty rough road. "How Should We Then Live" is very readable and most of the time very clear. The book is well worth your time.

"People's presuppositions lay a grid for all they bring forth into the external world. Their presuppositions also provide the basis for their values and therefore the basis for their decisions."

Schaeffer does an amazing job in tracing the coarse of ideas, where they came from, who originated them, and what they eventual lead to. Schaeffer's walk through time gives the modern reader a clear understanding of our own world, as we are able to clearly see where ideas came from and how they developed.

Though Schaeffer does not ever directly answer the question of "how should we then live," he does raise the question in the readers mind as he shows how we do live. Schaeffer traces the history of philosophy, religion, and science in the Western World. He begins with Rome (with the incorporation of Greek values) and proceeds through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Industrialism, Modernity and the post-modern world.

This is a very basic history covering the past 2000 years. However, there is substantial depth in this book. Schaeffer is able to extract the most important people and events that spurred the dominant ideas that have shaped Western Civilization, past and present, in a clear and concise manner.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in History, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Art, Culture and or Ideas. Schaeffer also provides an excellent chronological index for quick referencing along with over sixty pictures of notable people, places, and works of art.

Dr. Schaeffer offers observations of world history that are not common sense. Weaving philosophical development with corresponding expression of the arts, the author makes the case that there are fundamentallyonly two streams of thought. The first centers on the Creator as the central point. It is the Creator who offers meaning to Man. The second puts Man as the central figure and discloses the logical end to such thinking.

Though not a quick read, this book is valuable for those who seek to establish a foundational basis for a Christian world view.

In "Francis & Edith Schaeffer," L.G. Parkhurst gives a brief (143-page) account of the Schaeffers' lives. Parkhurst, himself a committed Christian, became close friends with the family several years before Francis' death in 1984. In the book, he does an excellent job capturing the couple's great faith and obedience to God, as well as some of the many ways God intervened in their lives. The book really helped me in my Christian walk and I recommend it to any believer who is in search of a good devotional work. My only complaint is that the book is so short that it fails to delve deeply both into the Schaeffers' lives, and Francis' philosophical and theological teachings. For a more thorough treatment of the couple's life, I highly recommend Edith Schaeffer's "The Tapestry."

Francis Schaeffer does not produce much among the "light reading" category. This book is refreshingly different than his others in that you catch a glimpse of the man behind the mind. It's subject matter focuses on specific advice/counseling for people that have written questions ranging from organized religion to intimacy in marriage and friendship. The "letters" have been compiled over 30 years ('53-'83) from individuals that had written to Schaeffer. They are categorized into three sections: 1) The Reawakening of Spiritual Reality, 2) Spiritual Reality in Daily Living, 3) Spiritual Reality in Marriage, Family and Sexual Relations. His answers are biblical, humble...always personal. In a day when radio and even church counseling resembles a fast food chain...(hasty & premature answers), this book provides an ear that truly listens to those seeking guidance.

Morris fails from the start since he grossly misunderstands Schaeffer's apologetics and presuppositionalism in general. I was surprised at this, since I have read other works by Morris, and they were decent. But as for this book, it is completely useless other than to illustrate how some people may misread Christian literature.

Morris' work is an excellent detail of weaknesses in Schaeffer's reasoning. This will help anyone get a grasp of the basic philosophical problems with some simple proofs for the existence of God. Morris' scholarly journey has not ventured into the realm of proofs for the existence of God. "Coherence" seems the place to be. I agree. Without a coherent conception of a personal God and humans, there's no reason to believe. Those who bury their heads in the Westminster catechism and fail to understand the basic problems of philosophy will continue to make over-reaching, and sometimes ridiculous, claims.

The demands of a sound metaphysics require one to follow where reason leads. Yes, presuppositions are the starting point belief about reality, but without adequacy, consistency, coherence, and applicability, irrationality or silence is the only option.

Schaeffer was too confident in his own argumentation and didn't take enough time to examine sophisticated criticism. He also did not have the pleasure to enjoy the last twenty years of the wonderful work in the Philosophy of Religion.

Civilization needs evidence and logical argumentation. When people have no understanding of the demands of a rational metaphysical system, people like Depak Chopra and John Calvin, we are left with crazy world views. Morris shows clearly how Schaeffer claimed too much in his apologetics. And this is what makes Morris so good-he sticks with the rational criteria. His argument in another text about reason and God's knowledge of the future is superb.

Determinism aside, a good starting point in metaphysics is the great recent work by Frederick Ferré, "Being and Value: Toward Constructive Postmodern Metaphysics."

Morris here presents an incisive critique of Schaeffer's apologetic -- both its method and its content. He begins with an examination of Schaeffer's presuppositional approach, which manifested itself in three major arguments for Christian theism: the Metaphysical, Epistemological, and Moral Arguments. The metaphysical argument proceeds along the lines of the classical cosmological and teleological arguments. In order to explain the reality of human personality - the mannishness of man, as Schaeffer put it - we must posit the existence of an ultimate personality. Likewise, to preserve the existence of cause and effect relationships, we must presuppose the existence of an ultimate rationality. Christian theism provides for both of these basic needs with its claim for the existence of an ultimate infinite-personal-rational God.

The epistemological argument attempts to show the usefulness of Christianity in explaining both the knowing subject and the known object, as well as ascribing meaning to human existence. Antitheistic thought is unable to provide a way to distinguish between reality and fantasy, a failing due to its lack of a basis for truth. If all thought is the result of the random movements of atoms or basic particles, then one thought can be no truer than another. Naturalism also cannot provide any guarantee for the reality of extramental existence. All these problems, asserts Schaeffer, spring from the starting point of rationalistic autonomy, a presupposition that excludes divine revelation. From the autonomous starting point, one can speak only of phenomena and never of noumena. Man cannot know the thing in itself. Naturalism is the result and man is plunged below the line of despair, unable to explain the meaning that he feels compelled to ascribe to his life. Starting from the Reformation axiom of divine revelation - He is there and He is not silent - man is justified in attributing an ultimate purpose to his life, he has a basis for distinguishing truth from falsehood, and he is able to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

The moral argument undertakes to explain the reality of and justification for human moral judgments. Moral judgments are foundational to human society and inescapable - even atheists think it is wrong not to believe atheism. The impersonal starting point of naturalism, however, cannot provide a basis for making moral judgments. If man is but a collocation of atoms, then the rearrangement of these atoms - sometimes call murder - cannot be considered wrong. Cruelty becomes a meaningless term. Man cannot live devoid of morality or a moral sense, so he creates one. But all humanly manufactured systems of morality fall short of satisfying human longing for absolute, transcendent moral standards. Christianity, on the other hand, does provide such a foundation in the infinite-personal God and his commands. Only the Christian presupposition can explain man's awareness of moral standards and his current inability to abide by them.

Morris critique consists of five major points. First, Morris contends that Schaeffer fails to recognize the importance of predispositions in addition to presuppositions. Predispositions are non-propositional orientations such as likes and dislikes, cultural factors, and the aggregate of experiences of life. By ignoring predispositions, Schaeffer treats the unbeliever as a completely rational being who rationally deduces propositions from axioms and realizes all the implications of his beliefs. But humans are not like this. Second, Schaeffer claims too much for his arguments. If valid, then at best they prove some kind of immaterial, personal being, but not the Trinitarian, incarnational God of the Bible, and in no way do they prove the reliability of the Scriptures or other fundamental beliefs of Christianity. Third, Schaeffer impugns modern irrationalists like Kierkegaard and Sartre for taking a leap of faith in order to cross the line of despair. But, Morris points out, Schaeffer takes the leap of faith at the beginning of his endeavor. Presuppositions are nonlogical beliefs in that they have no basis, but are themselves the basis for all other beliefs. Therefore, everyone takes some kind of nonlogical leap of faith. Certainty is a chimera. Fourth, Schaeffer presents his arguments as conclusive. He acts as though they really prove Christianity. But in reality all he has done, if his arguments are correct, is to disprove naturalism. This "indirect proof" of Christianity is no proof at all.

If we cannot prove Christianity, if presuppositions and predispositions are intractable, as Morris seems to indicate, then what is the use of apologetics? Is it not a futile endeavor? In Part 2 of his book, Morris addresses these concerns. He concludes that apologetics is indeed futile - apart from the grace and work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of the unbeliever. As with the proclamation of the Gospel, the Christian's witness is never efficacious unless the Holy Spirit empowers it.

Morris also addresses the question of presuppositionalism vs. evidentialism. He believes that presuppositionalism is a valid, indeed necessary, approach in confrontation with atheistic thought, but that evidentialism serves its purpose in dialogue with other theistic systems.

I heartily recommend this insightful evaluation of Schaffer's thought to anyone interested in apologetics and apologetical method. Morris presents a readable and organized account of Schaeffer's strengths and weaknesses. I have but a few reservations. First, Morris criticizes Schaeffer for the imprecision and incompleteness of his arguments. I believe this is a result of Morris' background in analytic philosophy. He wants every premise to be explicit and every argument to be detailed and exact. But to expect this from the man of L'Abri is to misunderstand Schaeffer's role. Schaeffer was primarily an evangelist and thus his style is more that of a propagandist (in the best sense of the word) than a trained philosopher.

My second disagreement with Morris centers on his endorsement of Schaeffer's use of hypothesis in apologetics. It seems to me that the very notion of hypothesis is the product of the Enlightenment mentality which both Morris and Schaeffer were trying to overturn. It calls to mind the idea of the objective, neutral, presuppositionless man choosing a worldview. But it never happens like that. Presuppositionalists say that starting points are chosen, not proved. But we must take it one step farther. We say that starting points are given not chosen. No man who adheres to naturalistic presuppositions is able to choose a Christian worldview. The fundamental desires and values of Christians are at variance with those of atheists. How then does the gestalt switch from naturalism to Christianity take place, since no piece of evidence or even logical argumentation can effect it? The answer is that the Holy Spirit regenerates the heart of the unbeliever, reshaping the values and desires, and providing him with an entirely new worldview and set of predispositions.

Third, and related to my second criticism, is Morris' use of the concept of probability. He seems to think that probability is a useful tool in apologetic argumentation, but fails to realize the way this compromises the nature of Christian doctrine. Starting points, by their very nature, cannot be ascribed a degree of probability. They are themselves the measurement, basis, and standard for determining probability. If the existence of God and the inspiration of the Scriptures are the starting points of Christianity, as I believe they must be, then they admit of no probability. They must be argued for presuppositionally, not evidentially.

In toto, though, Morris' critique is an excellent read, a good summary of Schaeffer's thought, and an enlightening examination of apologetic methodology.

This is another book by Schaeffer I am reviewing. The argumentation is extremely poor, the book contains a lot of mistake--typical of Schaeffer's work. The reason why I keep reading these worthless books is because of a Christian friend who tries to convert me: but he is reaching the opposite effect. He 'd better show me some better books or no books at all.

Schaeffer was a sincere, devout, extremely intelligent, and supremely compassionate man. Having a heart that was broken over the nihilism of the 1960s-70s, he tried valiantly to appeal to the reason of the cynics who were privately hopeless. But his reach often exceeded his grasp. Many of his conclusions are more than valid, but his means of arriving at them are shot through with oversimplification couched in (ironically) complicated technical language and repetition. As any philosophy teacher will tell you, a thing can still be true even if it's believed for a faulty reason. The last chapter of "He Is There" (which is the true crux of the book and to which all the others serve as laborious prologue) is a case in point.

For all that, Schaeffer is still a fascinating man who left a lasting imression on the intellectual seekers of the hippie and anti-establishment culture. He accepted them without judgment but also remained true to his own beliefs. It is important to at least familiarize oneself with this significant Christian mind and heart.

I would consider suggesting this text to the skeptic who wants visceral "proof" but will settle for virtual evidence via philosophical reasoning. Those who contrast Schaffer to C.S. Lewis are unfair; the former relies on inductive reasoning, while the former emphasizes deduction. Does Schaffer over generalize? Perhaps when passing judgement on the humanities in their historical contexts, but the reader must realize that Schaffer is by no means a postmodernist. He is, paradoxically, an abstract thinker of absolutes.